NFL DRAFT / What we learned during 7 rounds

Ira Miller

Published 4:00 am, Monday, April 25, 2005

2005-04-25 04:00:00 PDT New York -- The NFL Draft is an inexact science, but it gave us valuable reminders over the weekend. Among them: How much the league values key players in the passing game, and how the structure of an organization can affect the way it approaches the draft.

The passing game, first.

For the most part, teams stocked up early in the draft on passing-game players: quarterbacks, wide receivers, cornerbacks and defensive ends/outside linebackers. Twenty of the 32 first-round picks came at those positions.

There is no one method of putting a team together that is absolutely guaranteed success. But, particularly since the salary cap came into existence, teams have learned to put the big dollars in those players who can make game- defining plays.

So, it was instructive to note that our two local teams showed a clear difference in what they consider important in putting together the roster. Of course, it also must be remembered that they were starting from significantly divergent positions of relative strength (or weakness).

The Raiders, for a change, were in the league's mainstream, using their first two picks on cornerbacks. Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz says the rules emphasis on illegal-contact penalties has made the top corner "more valuable" rather than less "because there are so few people who can do that job."

The 49ers were not in the mainstream. After choosing quarterback Alex Smith, they used their three remaining first-day selections on interior linemen and a running back, then picked a defensive tackle with their first selection Sunday and, when they finally took a wide receiver, he was a project -- a college quarterback who will be converted.

Oakland already has playmakers on its roster, and wanted more. San Francisco has no playmakers and needs them. The 49ers' thrust in drafting grunts early was understandable because one of many reasons for their current predicament was a longtime neglect of the offensive line. But their drafting philosophy served to show what an uphill climb they now face.

Only time will tell where these teams are headed after two straight years out of the playoffs, but the philosophical differences are intriguing because, although Mike Nolan is a defensive coach, he doesn't necessarily agree with a widely held theory that an outside pass-rusher is among the most important positions on defense.

The 49ers did not get the rave reviews that often come to a team at the top of the draft with a lot of picks, but it wasn't because Nolan was shortsighted. He took a long-term view, which is not always the norm for a coach. The real issue is whether he got the value he sought for his collection of picks, and the first indications are that it was marginal.

In other organizations that underwent change, however, the new influence showed during the draft.

Green Bay and Seattle, with new general managers who were hired to work with or above incumbent coaches, both took long-term views. The long-term generally is the province of a GM, and coaches tend to look for an immediate bang.

The Packers, whose suspect drafting by coach Mike Sherman was a major reason Ted Thompson was hired as general manager, lucked into Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers, then added Nick Collins, a Division I-AA safety who has a lot of learning to do, and Texas A&M receiver Terrence Murphy, who will be no better than the team's fourth wideout initially.

Thompson has a rather basic drafting philosophy. Speaking of Rodgers, he said, "I really liked the way he played the game. It really comes down to something almost as simple as that."

In Seattle, which is desperate to improve on defense, new Seahawks President Tim Ruskell chose a center, Chris Spencer, in the first round. That hardly seems a priority, but the defensive players available at that spot all had flaws, so Ruskell went for value. Spencer was only the fourth center drafted in the first round since 1993.

Ruskell tried to trade up for defensive help, but found it was too expensive. So he settled instead for what he called "building-block guys," drafting linebacker Lofa Tatupu in the second round. The Seahawks would have had to give up a second-round pick plus something else to get a shot at a pass- rusher in the middle of the first round and that was too high a price for Ruskell.

Overall, there are five teams -- the 49ers, Seahawks and Packers, plus Miami (coach Nick Saban) and Cleveland (GM Phil Savage) -- with new draft bosses. The Dolphins had a solid draft, but the Browns appear to have done the best in this group.

Savage, a key player in Baltimore's great drafting record of recent seasons, called Saban's bluff early in the draft. The Dolphins hoped that Cleveland's desire for wideout Braylon Edwards would lead the Browns to trade up; Savage didn't bite. Cleveland then got solid players all the way through the draft.

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Now, all we have to do is wait a couple of years to find out who really did well. We got another reminder of that, too, during the off-season; in recent weeks, the Raiders gave up on two of their former first-round picks (Phillip Buchanon and Napoleon Harris) and a second-rounder (Doug Jolley), and they are trying to trade another former No. 1 (Charles Woodson).

In other words, once it's over, where you are drafted means little. So, now that we think we know what happened, we'll just have to wait patiently to find out for sure.

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